Aug. 21—BROOKINGS — Mark Gronowski is back for one final season at South Dakota State. He’s still got two years of eligibility, but after leading the Jackrabbits to a second straight national championship in January, he announced in April he would return for one more season in blue and yellow.
That final season could be viewed as a farewell tour of sorts, but for Gronowski it’ll be anything but. He’s a quarterback on a mission.
The fourth-year, 6-foot-3 Naperville, Ill., native has put in the work every offseason since he burst onto the scene as a true freshman in the spring of 2021, but this may have been his most productive one yet. The 2023 Walter Payton Award winner as the FCS player of the year, Gronowski attended the Manning Passing Academy where he worked with and met Peyton, Eli and a handful of other NFL coaches and played alongside some of the nation’s top quarterbacks. He put on about 10 pounds and arrived at fall camp weighing a robust 233 pounds and looking almost more like a defensive end than a quarterback, and since the first day of practice he’s been throwing lasers all over the field.
The best player in the country looks better than ever, and while his status as a leader and face of the program is Jackrabbit lore at this point, it’s time, for once, to put the intangibles aside and focus on the tangibles. The arm strength, the accuracy, the footwork and physical stature have Gronowski’s teammates shaking their heads.
How good can he be this year? How high is up?
“He’s been making some incredible throws in camp,” said safety Tucker Large. “As good as he’s been, he looks even better. He’s gonna have a huge year.”
Certainly that’s the goal. Gronowski could end up taking his talents to an FBS program next season, but if he plays well enough, he could be NFL-ready.
He completed 68 percent of his passes…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/one-more-mark-gronowski-aims-235200436.html
Author : The Daily Republic, Mitchell, S.D.
Publish date : 2024-08-21 23:52:00
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